ANÁLISIS FACTORIAL

6. Policy Options for Expansion of Senior Secondary Education

It is important to note that the senior secondary education system is built on the premise that students requiring practical and vocational skills will gravitate to technical and vocational schools (SMK) and SMAs are a primarily preparation for higher education. However, over 40% of the SMA student respondents in this study reported that they intend to seek work directly after graduating, rather than go on to higher education. The fundamental assumptions that underlie the system may need to be addressed as the secondary sub-sector expands. Those students who do continue in the education system to higher studies require improved problem-solving and study skills. These considerations imply a continuing need to improve the quality and relevance of senior secondary curricula as the system expands.

6.1 Provision of Infrastructure

The construction of new school units would immediately increase the capacity of educational facilities to accommodate more students. However, in order to provide sufficient places to increase enrolment to the 85% target, it has been estimated that 2,100 schools will have to be built in the next two years.¹⁹ The cost of building and equipping these schools would be in the region of Rp 3.7 trillion.²⁰ When the recurrent costs of staffing these new schools are factored in, the government would have to find an additional Rp 900 billion each year.²¹

Not only are the costs prohibitive, but the time required to build, staff and establish new schools would pose considerable challenges, given the policy objective of rapid expansion. Urgent work would have to be done on the appropriate siting of new schools to ensure that they were built in the areas of greatest need. The whole process of land acquisition, procurement of contractors and construction, not to mention the deployment of staff and the identification of prospective students takes considerable time. Experience in Indonesia suggests that at least two years are needed from the start of construction for a new school to be ready to accommodate students.

An increase in the capacity of the senior secondary school system can also be achieved through the expansion of existing schools by building new classrooms. Providing additional classrooms, however, is also costs prohibitive. Moreover, it cannot solve the problem of access for students who live far away from existing schools.

6.2 Provision of Operational Funds for SMAs (the BOS Model)

The Ministry of Education and Culture has announced an extension of Bantuan Operasi Sekolah (BOS) to senior secondary schools in 2013. Through this programme the government will channel funds for the operational needs of SMAs (both state and private) and thereby hold down the costs charged to parents.

Such a scheme has operated for primary and junior secondary schools for some years.

The results of the household survey in this study show that charges paid directly to the school (for entrance money/money for buildings, re-registration charges and monthly fees) are the costs that parents regard as the most burdensome. The provision of BOS could reduce this burden on parents and provide an incentive to sending their children to school. Estimates made by this study of the operational funds needed in State SMAs are around Rp 1,100, 000 per student per year. If the BOS funds for SMAs were to cover the whole of this amount and the number of SMA students (state and private) in 2013 is around 4.85 million, the cost of the BOS scheme for SMA would be around Rp 5.4 trillion in that fiscal year alone.

19 This figure is based on the assumption that a new school consists of three classrooms, one laboratory, and one library and there is an average of 120 students per school.

20 Based on information obtained from the Directorate for Guidance of Senior High Schools, the estimated cost of building one new school unit/Unit Sekolah Baru/USB (3 classrooms, 1 office, 1 teachers room, 1 IPA laboratory, 1 library, toilet and furniture/equipment) is Rp 1,775,000,000. For the present time, the factor of inflation is not included in estimates.

21 Assuming a staffing complement per school of 18 persons (15 teachers, 3 educational staff ) and that salaries (and allowances) average

6. Policy Options for Expansion of Senior Secondary Education

The availability of funds is not the only challenge to the BOS SMA programme. A greater challenge is the extent to which the impact of this policy will be felt in terms of growth in enrolment. The provision of block grants to schools is a blunt instrument for increasing participation, particularly when access is limited by the number of student places in senior secondary schools. In order for there to be a positive and significant impact on enrolment, the BOS policy for SMAs must be accompanied by other policies to create greater senior secondary school capacity.

6.3 Increasing Efficiency

There is considerable scope for expanding senior secondary education through containing and reducing unit costs and by a more efficient use of resources. In common with many other countries, Indonesia has inefficiencies in its education system. Better utilisation of existing resources could reduce the per-pupil costs to the government.

Unit costs could be reduced, by better utilization of teachers so that they spend more of their time in contact with students and by reducing teacher absenteeism. This indicates the need for better incentives and monitoring mechanisms to improve the efficiency of the existing workforce and for tackling the almost universal practice of “moonlighting”, by which teachers often have more than one job. While the student-teacher ratio is low (13.5:1) in Indonesia, compared to other countries, teacher absenteeism and the high number of part-time teachers result in class sizes being much greater than the student-teacher ratio suggests. Reducing avoidable costs requires a greater level of cost consciousness than currently exists in most schools. More efficient teacher deployment, although an essential policy component, is not a short-term fix. Relocating teachers is notoriously difficult to implement.

However, there will be scope in some places for increasing the size of classes. Some schools already operate a double-shift system with morning and afternoon classes. This is a viable short-term solution, but it is not a popular option, because double shifts are associated with reduced teacher-student contact time and the loss of extra-curricula activities. There is a popular perception that this leads to lower learning outcomes, but properly managed, such a system could expand access and improve efficiency. Moreover, some form of shift working in populous areas may be unavoidable if the enrolment targets are to be met.

Box 6.1 Supporting High Levels of Secondary Enrolment in Urban Areas: the case of China China has managed to support high levels of secondary enrolment in urban areas at low cost through a combina-tion of relatively low salary costs, high addicombina-tional school income through revenue-raising, work-unit subsidies and fee-paying students from outlying areas. This has been further assisted by low population growth. The longstand-ing structural features of education finance in China are uncommon elsewhere. Schools and their teachers have a wide range of economic and social responsibilities. It is not uncommon to find local taxation for education placed on businesses. In addition to this, schools assets have been put to entrepreneurial use and schools have generated work-unit related income (a share of whose profits they keep) from activities unrelated to schooling. In addition to this, some schools have been able to generate substantial income from students residing in outlying areas. How-ever, there have been consequential impacts on equity and a growing problem of inadequate supply of compe-tent teachers in areas where salaries cannot be enhanced.

Source: Lewin and Caillods (2001), Financing Secondary Education in Developing Countries, IIEP.

6. Policy Options for Expansion of Senior Secondary Education

Box 6.2 Making Better Use of Teachers to Increase Efficiency: Kenya

A 2004 World Bank study projected that it would be possible to increase secondary enrolments (grade 9-12) by 50%

without increasing the number of teachers by:

¡ Increasing official teaching load from 18 to 25 hours a week;

¡ Using part time teachers for subjects that are taught only a few periods a week;

¡ Increasing class sizes from an average 36 to about 45;

¡ Expanding existing schools to at least three parallel streams;

¡ Sharing teachers across schools

¡ Establishing a minimum class size for optional subjects;

¡ Establishing a minimum cut-off level for the teaching load of each teacher;

¡ Limiting the time allocated to administrative duties Source: Rajkumar, and Onsomu (2004)

The development of filial schools, which this study encountered in Karawang and Grobogan, is an extention of the idea of double shifting. A “filial school” is a school which is administratively a part of a “mother school” (sekolah induk), but whose teaching-learning activities are carried out remotely. This is a relatively inexpensive way of increasing senior secondary enrolments using existing resources more intensively and avoiding large expenditure on new infrastructure.

In the model operating in Grobogan, teaching-learning activities in an SMA filial school are carried out in a local State SMP closer to the students. Most of the teachers in this model are teachers in the SMP where the filial school is located. This has the advantage of providing senior secondary schooling too hard to reach students and is popular with teachers, particularly those at the SMP, whose second job does not now require travelling between locations. The additional hours they work also gives them the additional teaching hours that they need to obtain certification.²² Teaching in a filial school takes place in the afternoon after the lessons are finished in the SMP.

Filial schools in Karawang are located in a State Primary Schools.²³ This means that schools can reach prospective students in the remotest locations, but the challenges are also greater. Most of the teachers have to be drafted in and as a result, the majority of SMA filial teachers are non-PNS teachers who have been specially recruited by the district government. This makes this a more expensive model than that operating in Grobogon.

The filial school model represents part of a possible short-term solution to increasing capacity. There are clearly possibilities for variations on this theme. The idea of developing larger schools with satellite smaller schools sharing facilities such as laboratories, computer rooms and libraries recognises that large schools have lower unit costs when facilities are shared by a large number of students and can offer a wider variety of subject options. It allows more students to study a broader curriculum than they would be able to do in smaller schools. However, it brings with it problems of establishing and maintaining quality. Moreover the legal status of satellite schools needs to be clarified, before this idea can be rolled out extensively.

From discussions in MOEC with the Direktorat Pembinaan SMA, there appears to be some uncertainty about whether such arrangements are permitted under current regulations.

Technological advances permit consideration of a far wider range of approaches to the expansion of secondary education than was possible only a few years ago. The use of distance learning through the internet, broadcasting, and combinations of video-conferencing and face-to face instruction are now within the realms of practicability and affordability. Examples of technology-enhanced learning can be seen in Mexico’s Telesecundaria, Brazil’s Proformacao, India’s National High School and South Korea’s Air Correspondence High School. Indonesia has a long and relatively successful track record in providing junior secondary school tuition through open learning (SMP Terbuka) and although this was primarily

22 For certification a teacher is obliged to teach a minimum of 24 hours per week. In many schools it is not easy for teachers to meet this condition.

23 In Karawang, this model is not referred to by the term “Filial School”. Instead, the term “Distance Class” is used. In essence it is the same

6. Policy Options for Expansion of Senior Secondary Education

aimed at providing basic education to hard-to-reach youth, the modalities for extending access to senior secondary education could be similar.

Box 6.3 Alternative Education in Mexico

Mexico has made dramatic progress in secondary school enrolment in recent years. This was partly due to the introduction of timely policies and programs. Mexico first introduced supply-side policies followed by demand-side policies and more recently the latter have had an equity focus. The country has increased resources through the federalisation of primary and secondary education. Programs such as the Telesecundaria program (distance secondary learning) and Oportunidades (CCTs for poor families) have also been deemed successful in promoting secondary education in the country.

Educational television for secondary education

Telesecundaria is a satellite television-based program in Mexico that offers secondary education as part of the national system. It provides a complete package of support to teachers and students in remote rural areas.

Instruction is delivered through broadcasts, teachers and text. Almost 800,000 students are currently enrolled in the program. Costs are comparable to those of conventional schools in more populated urban areas. To be eligible for participation communities need 15 primary school completers and a place to study. The government provides a teacher, a satellite dish, wiring, the instructional program and textbooks.

Several other countries in the region have adapted the programs, using video instead of satellite broadcasts.

Source: Murphy et al 2002²⁴

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6.4 Engaging with the Private Sector

Indonesia has an established tradition of private education provision and the sector includes a range of institutions: elite schools; religiously affiliated schools; and low-cost private schools. This tradition stems in part from the relationship between the government and Islamic schools. Many Islamic senior secondary schools (MA) cater predominantly for the poor.

The established status of private education means that there is a ready-made physical and institutional infrastructure for increasing the involvement of the private sector in plans for expansion. Private institutions and contributions from households can be useful vehicles for mobilising resources and for providing and maintaining stable service delivery of secondary education. Research evidence suggests that private school students tend to perform better and at lower unit costs. This is believed to be due to a combination of factors including greater wage efficiency in private schools, higher levels of teacher accountability and increased competition and accountability to parents.

Strong public-private partnerships have several key characteristics. There needs to be a positive attitude in government towards private provision. This needs to be supported by a clear regulatory framework, based on expected minimum standards. Regulations need to be permissive of variation, rather than directive.

The tax regime needs to be conducive to business and tolerant of profit, rather than punitive.

All such partnerships rely, to some extent on public funding, either in the form of subsidies and grants, vouchers or the provision of teachers. They need therefore to reflect government concerns and support government policies.

24 Murphy, P., Anzalone, S., Bosch, A. and Moulton, J. (2002), ‘Enhancing Learning Opportunities in Africa: Distance Education and Information and Communication Technologies for Learning’, African Region Human Development Working Paper Series, World Bank.

6. Policy Options for Expansion of Senior Secondary Education

Box 6.4 Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Pakistan and the Philippines

The Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) has been the main vehicle of PPPs in Punjab province, Pakistan, and has had a number of initiatives including Foundation Assisted Schools Program (FAS), the Continuous Professional Development Programme (CPDP) and the Education Voucher Scheme (EVS) among others. FAS is a voucher scheme funding private schools on a per-pupil basis based on certain eligibility criteria. The schools are usually low cost with a fee ceiling. In addition to per pupil funding, school and teacher performance rewards have been introduced. On the demand side, PEF has also introduced a voucher scheme in which parents are given a voucher for their child to attend a high-fee charging private school for free. The vouchers have been allocated based on household SES, household size and occupation of the household head.

An example of a successful PPP initiative can be found in the Philippines. Through the Education Service Contracting Program (ESC), the government entered into contracts with private schools to enrol students in areas where there was a shortage of public high-school places. Subsidies under the ESC were generally restricted to students at schools charging low fees with preference being given to students from low-income families. Since 2003, the number of ESC grantees has grown at an average annual rate of 12 per cent and in 2009 nearly half of all private secondary schools in the Philippines had ESC grantees enrolled in their schools. There were almost half a million ESC-grantees in 2009 as compared to 4000 in 1987.

However, structures of private-public partnerships need to ensure that government aided private schools i.e. those that are publicly funded and privately managed retain the advantages of private schools rather than becoming de-facto government schools.²⁵ Unlike India where aided schools are de-facto government schools, Bangladesh has seen more success in this regard. Whilst overall school quality in Bangladesh is low, students in publicly-aided Madrassahs and private-aided schools outperform students in government schools.²⁶

6.5 Provision of Teaching and Learning Materials

The results of the school survey showed that none of the schools that were visited provided learning materials or textbooks that can be borrowed by students. At lower levels of the education system Minimum Service Standards (SPM) for SDs, MIs, SMPs and MTs include the obligation of schools to supply textbooks at a ratio of one book per student for all school subjects. If Minimum Service Standards for SMAs and MAs are to be adopted, it would be appropriate for the same stipulations about textbooks to apply. Thus every SMA should provide textbooks in the proportion of one book for one student for all subjects. This strategy would however be very expensive. By way of illustration, if in 2013, the number of students in State SMAs will be 4.8 million, the number of SMA subjects is 15 and that the average price of a book is Rp 40,000, the funds needed to provide books in State SMAs would be around Rp 1.92 trillion in that fiscal year.

6.6 Financial Assistance to Poor Students

Pro-poor policies based on cash transfers or scholarships, if well targeted, can be appropriate financing options for senior secondary education. Loans are generally regarded as more relevant financing options for tertiary rather than secondary education, but there have been innovative schemes such as Income Contingent Loans (ICLs) that have been used successfully in some countries. Experience has shown them to have lower default rates whilst at the same time promoting both equity and efficiency. However, because of the complexities in administration, these schemes have been used more in the developed world, such as in New Zealand and the UK. Loan arrangements would be complicated in a country as large and diverse as Indonesia.

25 Kingdon, G. (1996), ‘The Quality and Efficiency of Private and Public Education: A Case Study of Urban India’, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 58 (1): 57-82.

26 Chaudhry, N. and Asadullah, N. (2009), ‘Reverse Gender Gap in Schooling in Bangladesh: Insights from Urban and Rural

6. Policy Options for Expansion of Senior Secondary Education

From 1999-2004 Indonesia had a ground-breaking cash transfer scheme, the Scholarships and Grants

From 1999-2004 Indonesia had a ground-breaking cash transfer scheme, the Scholarships and Grants